Season of truth for Hal Steinbrenner

Mike Stobe/Getty ImagesThe idea that Hal Steinbrenner isn't like his dad will be put to the test this year.

TAMPA, Fla. -- New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman did what good teammates should always do when speaking with reporters about Derek Jeter's status for the start of the season, noting the best-case scenario and Jeter's past healing power, saying he'd never doubt Jeter.

But Cashman also acknowledged the possibility that Jeter will open the year on the disabled list, because the fact is that he's running out of time. CC Sabathia will throw the first pitch of the Yankees' season in 11 days, and the fact is that Jeter -- coming back from a major ankle injury at age 38 -- hasn't played more than five innings in any exhibition, and the stress of even that reduced workload created soreness that he found untenable. Jeter got a cortisone injection and won't be on the field for a few days, in all likelihood, so the idea that he'll be able to build up his physical strength and comfort in a week's time to play nine innings day after day, once baseball's relentless schedule begins, is a stretch.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

Insider

ABOUT THIS BLOG

Buster Olney

Buster Olney is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine. He began covering baseball in 1989, as the Nashville Banner's beat reporter assigned to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. Later, he covered the San Diego Padres (1993-94), the Baltimore Orioles ('95-96), the New York Mets ('97) and the Yankees ('98-2001). Olney joined ESPN The Magazine in 2003, after six years at The New York Times, and he's the author of two books. "The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty," is a Times best-seller, and "How Lucky You Can Be", about basketball coaching legend Don Meyer, was released in 2011.

He grew up in central Vermont collecting baseball cards and listening to Red Sox, Expos, Phillies and Pirates radio broadcasts, and was a rabid fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He graduated from Vanderbilt University the same year as hoops legend Will Perdue, and ranks among the all-time leading scorers in pickup basketball at Memorial Gym. He claims to have witnessed the Commodores' winning football season in 1982 (although anthropologists have not yet confirmed this).